Drew a candidate for the UK job??

142,360 Views | 1003 Replies | Last: 5 mo ago by wongobear
Lawbear
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Porteroso said:

IowaBear said:

Kentucky job is head and shoulders a better gig than Bu. No sane person would dispute that.
But with that comes a certain expectation. The expectations at BU are much much lower than UK.
The pressure cooker to win at UK and go deep every year in the dance is enormous. Not to mention Drew can just about kiss is Joy culture goodbye that simply won't fly at UK.
I personally would be shocked if he turned it down if offered. Would also be shocked if he lasted 5 years there.

How do you know he can't install his own culture at UK? The admin very well might welcome it after years of Calipari. And he might welcome the heightened expectations. It is not the negative many are making it out to be.
Agree. I want and think that CSD will continue to be the head coach of the Baylor Bears.

One thing I am certain of though - is that CSD will be able to install his culture wherever he coaches. Doesn't mean it will look exactly the same as it does at BU - and I think that many BU fans underestimate how competitive CSD is in everything he does. His nice person demeanor (also genuine) doesn't mean he doesn't have a burning desire compete and win - of course a look at almost every one of his teams would show that.

IvanBear
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boognish_bear said:


Jeff Goodman not having a sense on what Drew is doing is also a bad sign for us. He's almost for sure who Drew uses in the media to kill job speculation.

I feel like the best hope is Drew is using this to turn the screws one more time on Mack to maximize our NIL structure.

In my view NIL support is really the only reason here Drew leaves, like Hurley I don't think 2 or 3 million more dollars a year is going to sway him to move.
boognish_bear
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Daveisabovereproach
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IvanBear said:

Stefano DiMera said:

If we lose Drew...Mack ain't got nothing to do with it..it's because we have a fan base of about 12 people..I could do a poll on this thread and I betcha everyone in here *****ing about Mack doesn't donate a dime to the program...or show up at an occasional road game..or tournament game..

I didn't post this when it happened but I went to the TCU game.in Ft Worth..I haven't missed a game.in the Metroplex in years..it was the smallest BU turnout I'd ever seen there.

Scott made a comment on post game show thanking the Baylor fans 'that chose to show up'. .it wasn't so much the words but the tone in which he said it..came across as snarky at most..frustrated at the least..

There's something intoxicating about whatever arena you step foot in.. especially neutral sites in the tournament where you have the advantage like Kentucky does.

Cause we travel like ass .
Mack that you?


Ever since that interview last year where Mack admitted that he had underlings monitoring this site, I've certainly been very suspicious. And it's the same handful of people that defend him time after time after time
boognish_bear
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Funny how things work out.... a few weeks ago we had a thread here debating how long Drew's leash at Baylor was.

Now we are worried about losing him to one of the premier basketball programs in the country.
boognish_bear
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boognish_bear
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Drew is their floor hire to some

boognish_bear
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IvanBear
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boognish_bear said:

Drew is their floor hire to some


I really don't get people that like Oats over drew. Drew is indisputably the better recruiter.
Daveisabovereproach
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DFW Bill said:

Per Baylor's 2022 IRS Form 990, the latest I could find. Scott Drew's total compensation was approximately $5,143,000. and our beloved Athletic Director was approximately $2,600,000.


Oh but don't you know, if Scott Drew leaves, it's the fault of the average Joe fans that are struggling to put food on the table for their family and pay their rent/mortgage, not to mention trying to save up to pay Baylor's 70k+/year tuition for their kids someday. Please leave the millionaire decision-makers alone, they have feelings too, and they are trying their best!
MattyIce
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boognish_bear said:




Must be nice to have that much support….
BearBall
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Drew deserves a full arena and passionate fans.
MattyIce
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Jeff Goodman needs to shut the **** up.
He would love for Drew to go to Kentucky
2Bears
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boognish_bear said:

Funny how things work out.... a few weeks ago we had a thread here debating how long Drew's leash at Baylor was.

Now we are worried about losing him to one of the premier basketball programs in the country.
Which simply highlights the insanity of the thread. There is no way Drew was on any leash. He will go down as an all time great, as he should. Hopefully this temptation is not too great and he will stay. No one can say Baylor would be better off without him!
boognish_bear
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EvilTroyAndAbed
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IvanBear said:

Clearly he's not fully locked in here.
This is why message boards are toxic.
Mitch Henessey
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Porteroso said:

Mitch Henessey said:

Porteroso said:

Mitch Henessey said:

Porteroso said:

The guy has been here decades, and this is going to be his best opportunity to make an upwards move.

Honestly if he is still motivated to change and improve as a coach, he should take it. If he is comfortable resting and coasting on what he singlehandedly built
What even is this take?

Would you similarly say that John Wooden was coasting after 1964? Was Mike Krzyzewski coasting after 1991? How does staying at a place you literally built up from nothing mean you're not interested in improving? What a wild post.

I'm sorry but Baylor is not like those you posted. To compare Wooden or Krzyzewski to Drew is wild, and comparing Baylor to UCLA or Duke is wild.

Drew will never again have the situation he had for the natty. It was once in a lifetime to have covid encourage upperclassmen to band together to stay and see what they were capable of. It will not happen again.

What I'm not saying is that Drew won't do his best at Baylor. Obviously he will. But Kentucky would simply be a more demanding job, and he would be forced to improve his coaching, make some changes, that are difficult to know how to improve or change, in an entrenched position.
You might want to took a look at how many national championships UCLA and Duke had won prior to Wooden and Krzyzewski, homie. UCLA and Duke are UCLA and Duke BECAUSE of those two coaches. They single-handedly turned those schools into bluebloods.

Furthermore, if you think Drew hasn't grown or changed anything over his tenure at Baylor, you might want to get some measurements for a pair of clown shoes.

He's home from strictly man defense to fully zone, back to fully M2M, and now mixes them, when needed. He's changed his recruiting and transfer strategy 3-4x over his tenure. He's changed from an athletic, "drive to score" offensive philosophy, to a perimeter-oriented, "drive-to-dish" system.

I wonder how much Baylor basketball you've watched over Drew's tenure if you think he isn't open to changes.

You just don't get it, and won't no matter what I say. You cannot replicate top environments. Drew has an opportunity to move up, and he would be challenged in many ways. He would have to change and improve. He might want that challenge, and he might not. I don't know. But it would certainly be a move I'd respect.

A lot of you are stuck on the job being no better than the Baylor job, like it's just more stress and less fun. That is just not all there is to it. Reaching for the top in a field is its own reward.
You're moving the goalposts. The discussion was about whether or not he'd be "coasting" and "not wanting to improve" if he stayed at Baylor.

No one has objectively said that Baylor is a job on the level of Kentucky. Of course UK is a bigger/better job. My point was, Scott Drew has the opportunity to build something here. He can be our Wooden or Coach K. No one accused those guys of coasting when they stayed where they had won the school's first ever Natty. If he goes to UK, he's going to be expected to restore them to previous heights, which means Final Four is the baseline expectation every single year.

Different people want different things. Some people want to work for the McKinseys and Bains of the world. Some people want to build their own business from the ground up and run it their way. There is no right or wrong, and saying that someone who chooses to build something isn't going to challenge themselves or is "coasting" because they would prefer that over working for a world-class market leader is a silly comment to make. That's my point.
IvanBear
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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

IvanBear said:

Clearly he's not fully locked in here.
This is why message boards are toxic.
My man, 3 out of the 5 biggest names associated with the job have made it plain as day they're committed to their current Jobs/Schools. Drew could easily have done that last night, this morning etc. Instead he's letting the speculation run wild which will impact recruiting.

I love Drew, but inaction right now isn't necessarily indicative that he's going to take the job, but it does say he's going to entertain the offer.

If you've got a big time coach like we do you have to understand this, Birles did the same thing.
EvilTroyAndAbed
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IvanBear said:

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

IvanBear said:

Clearly he's not fully locked in here.
This is why message boards are toxic.
My man, 3 out of the 5 biggest names associated with the job have made it plain as day they're committed to their current Jobs/Schools. Drew could easily have done that last night, this morning etc. Instead he's letting the speculation run wild which will impact recruiting.

I love Drew, but inaction right now isn't necessarily indicative that he's going to take the job, but it does say he's going to entertain the offer.

If you've got a big time coach like we do you have to understand this, Birles did the same thing.
It doesn't say anything. You don't anything. I don't know anything. So when you say he's "clearly" not locked into Baylor, you're basing that on your insecurities and nothing else.

And you should know that just because someone says something doesn't mean that they won't turn tail days or weeks later. I saw Eddie Sutton at the Arkansas Legislature give his commitment to Arkansas only to take the Kentucky job a few days later. Oats and Hurley's words don't mean anything to me until a new coach is at UK.
IvanBear
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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

IvanBear said:

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

IvanBear said:

Clearly he's not fully locked in here.
This is why message boards are toxic.
My man, 3 out of the 5 biggest names associated with the job have made it plain as day they're committed to their current Jobs/Schools. Drew could easily have done that last night, this morning etc. Instead he's letting the speculation run wild which will impact recruiting.

I love Drew, but inaction right now isn't necessarily indicative that he's going to take the job, but it does say he's going to entertain the offer.

If you've got a big time coach like we do you have to understand this, Birles did the same thing.
It doesn't say anything. You don't anything. I don't know anything. So when you say he's "clearly" not locked into Baylor, you're basing that on your insecurities and nothing else.

And you should know that just because someone says something doesn't mean that they won't turn tail days or weeks later. I saw Eddie Sutton at the Arkansas Legislature give his commitment to Arkansas only to take the Kentucky job a few days later. Oats and Hurley's words don't mean anything to me until a new coach is at UK.
If you don't think this has an impact on recruiting right now you're crazy.
cowboycwr
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Porteroso said:

Mitch Henessey said:

Porteroso said:

The guy has been here decades, and this is going to be his best opportunity to make an upwards move.

Honestly if he is still motivated to change and improve as a coach, he should take it. If he is comfortable resting and coasting on what he singlehandedly built
What even is this take?

Would you similarly say that John Wooden was coasting after 1964? Was Mike Krzyzewski coasting after 1991? How does staying at a place you literally built up from nothing mean you're not interested in improving? What a wild post.

I'm sorry but Baylor is not like those you posted. To compare Wooden or Krzyzewski to Drew is wild, and comparing Baylor to UCLA or Duke is wild.

Drew will never again have the situation he had for the natty. It was once in a lifetime to have covid encourage upperclassmen to band together to stay and see what they were capable of. It will not happen again.

What I'm not saying is that Drew won't do his best at Baylor. Obviously he will. But Kentucky would simply be a more demanding job, and he would be forced to improve his coaching, make some changes, that are difficult to know how to improve or change, in an entrenched position.
The problem is you are comparing UCLA and Duke after they were built up to Baylor now. Not what they were after each of those coaches won their first title. Up and comers. neither was an established powerhouse after just one title but then kept winning and became one.

There is no reason to believe that Drew cannot do that here. Sure no one will ever match the dominance of UCLA with one and done and NIL these days but he could sure get us to a point where we are always in the talk of being a top team and title contender like he has for 4+ years now.
Rg6
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It takes months/years to recruit a high school kid. Name one recruit or transfer that we are in on that will make a decision based on Drew thinking things over for a week. You're crazy…there will be no affect on recruiting/players transferring unless he actually leaves.
IowaBear
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I think he's likely talking about portal recruiting to which he may have a point
cowboycwr
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PaperBear89 said:

Foster Pavillion 7k capacity 75% full on weeknight games because of "Sing"practice. Rupp arena 20k+ capacity, 19.8k average attendance in 2023. If Drew leaves, we got what we deserve.
While I get what you are saying there are not that many students involved in sing to cause attendance of students to be that low.

I would say it has more to do with limited student tickets, lack of sport or basketball interest of students and price of tickets for people in Waco, etc.
TeamPlayer
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Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.
Big12Fan2024
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I don't want to be dense here and I'm trying not to be a homer, but can someone explain to me all of these media comments that seem to imply Drew is a step below Nate Oats? I look at one guy who took a gutted program and made one of the most incredible turnarounds in the history of college basketball as agreed by even the most cynical media personalities, not to mention he already has a Natty (and potentially could have been 3 consecutive if not the most unusual happening of all time in COVID and then injuries one year), more than 1 Elite appearance and multiple Sweet 16s, and the other guy is certainly good but what does he have on his resume that even remotely compares to Drew's accomplishments? Oats may get there one day, but he's not there yet.

And don't even get me started on comparisons against Bruce Pearl.

TeamPlayer
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Big12Fan2024 said:

I don't want to be dense here and I'm trying not to be a homer, but can someone explain to me all of these media comments that seem to imply Drew is a step below Nate Oats? I look at one guy who took a gutted program and made one of the most incredible turnarounds in the history of college basketball as agreed by even the most cynical media personalities, not to mention he already has a Natty (and potentially could have been 3 consecutive if not the most unusual happening of all time in COVID and then injuries one year), more than 1 Elite appearance and multiple Sweet 16s, and the other guy is certainly good but what does he have on his resume that even remotely compares to Drew's accomplishments? Oats may get there one day, but he's not there yet.

And don't even get me started on comparisons against Bruce Pearl.


I'd say that Oats carries himself in a brash, visibly confident way. He's your typical SEC jackass coach. He took a shot at Coach K (which was beautiful) and he recruits the athletic freaks that Kentucky fans have loved for years. I really like him.

Drew is about humility, love, developing the kid into a man.

I think it's less about ranking and more about fit.
parch
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TeamPlayer said:

Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.
Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.
boognish_bear
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parch said:

TeamPlayer said:

Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.
Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.


+1

Well said.
DallasBear9902
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boognish_bear said:




Quotes like this show just how shallow media opinions can be. Rebuilding a program form a smoldering fire is not the same as succeeding at Kentucky. Yes, maybe Drew has monster success in Lexington, or, like another coach from central Texas, he goes up there and fails because his culture/system won't work at Kentucky.

It turned out that Gillespie couldn't make 5 star recruits practice until they literally puke. He got internal mutiny.

Here's a few examples that may be tough to replicate in KY. In the Drew era, the wings are highly polished, but he loves taking fliers on multi-year developmental projects with the big positions as long as they are athletic. How are Kentucky fans going to react when a big steps out there like Josh O and immediately turns it over on their first play in college basketball? How will that player react when his mistakes are amplified by the fan base?

Drew runs a positive reinforcement/affirming program. You can get away with that in Waco because there just isn't much trouble for players to get involved in and the players are mostly left alone. How does that play out on a campus where the basketball team members are the big rock stars and overshadow the everybody else?

Drew has run his program almost like a developmental mid-major (not shocking given his father). That won't fly in Lexington.

Look, I'm not saying he fails. If he leaves, I thank him for an amazing run and wish him the best, but man I hope he stays.

Also, curious that Mark Few's name hasn't been thrown around (or Tommy Lloyd).

I agree with whoever said the longer this drags out the worse it looks for us.
gobears20
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Staff
57Bear
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BearlyNose said:

Have you been to the University of Kentucky? It's a campus two blocks from downtown Lexington. Rupp Arena is not even on campus, though close. The players practice in an arena on campus, but play their games in the downtwon arena. Lexington may be a pretty town, but it's also dying town…. their largest employer other than UK is Smuckers. Yes, there has been revitalization downtown, but it's still an OLD, OLD town with little of the growth than one sees in this part of the country. It's a state university, in a dying part of the country. The myth that was Kentucky, like the myth that is Louisville, is holding on to its past and hoping that no one notices the world, and most of college athletics, have passed them by.
By comparison, Waco is an OLD, OLD town with growth controlled by a few families.
possible12
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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

PartyBear said:

Nate Owens and Jay Wright have both reportedly said no.
Not sure, but is Calvin Simpson too old? Or Mick Cohen at UCLA might be a good fit. AZ's Tommy Floyd is another hot coach.

Who is Nate Owens?
Robert Wilson
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parch said:

TeamPlayer said:

Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.
Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.
Same. Absolutely could see him leaving.

At the same time, his dad stayed at Valpo, I'm guessing through lots of better opportunities. Some chance Drew would rather have the long-term legacy here than start over at Kentucky. And he certainly has a chance to do more here. Additional Final 4s and even another championship aren't out of the realm, given his age. That would put him in an extremely elite class. Plus, he knows he can stay here and keep chopping wood as long as he wants, even if there are some bumps along the way. Kentucky could be over and out in 4 years.

Either way, I don't think anyone would blame him for his decision.
EvilTroyAndAbed
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What decision? He hasn't been offered anything.
 
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